The 2024 college football season has come to an end, with the Ohio State Buckeyes taking home the National Championship with a 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I think we all knew most of the year that OSU was the most talented team across the board in the country, and while the Irish made a valiant comeback effort in the second half after trailing 31-7, they just didn’t have the time to make up such a deficit. Now, the attention will shift to the 2025 college football season, with Ohio State favored to win it all again at +450 odds at BetMGM.
While we know the Buckeyes are generally going to be very good every season, considering they’re spending over $20 million in NIL money, the future is somewhat less certain for a team like Notre Dame. This is a school that has an acceptance rate of 16.5%, while many powerhouse programs demand far less of their athletes in terms of academics. OSU, for example, has a 52.7% acceptance rate. So, can they continue to be a serious championship contender?
According to PJ Glasser of the “Send It In” show, they certainly can.
“I really like Notre Dame at 12/1 next year to win the National Championship. Yes, they will lose QB Riley Leonard, and yes, they will lose a lot of their studs on the defensive side of the ball. But offensively, they bring back their top two running backs in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, and their top two receivers in Greathouse and Faison. With Marcus Freeman returning as head coach, Notre Dame in general is always good on the line of scrimmage. Offensive line, defensive line, they are always going to be good.”
Glasser thinks the biggest reason for their sustained success will be Freeman staying on as the head coach, and how good he has been.
“They are going to lose Xavier Watts, Riley Mills, Ben Morrison all likely gone on defense. But when Marcus Freeman is your head coach, you are always going to be good on defense. Keep in mind how young Notre Dame was, especially at corner. They had a true freshman and a true sophomore starting in the National Championship game. That is going to be the best corner tandem in college football next season. With all the injuries they suffered this season on defense as well, this team is only going to get better.”
He also thinks, much like how Ohio State used their loss to Michigan to inspire them, the Irish loss to Northern Illinois will teach them to never take an opponent for granted again. They used that embarrassing loss to go on a 13-game winning streak all the way to the title game.
For all of these reasons, Glasser thinks a wager on Notre Dame next season at 12/1 odds is a great bet to make if you are looking into the futures market and want to get in early before lines start to change with transfers and recruits flying around.
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